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Short, sharp 'Appcessory' Reviews + News for fellow geeks, educators and parents.

Appcessories are App and Accessory combo devices - where an add-on for an iPad or iPhone has been specifically engineered to interact with a matching app to provide new functionality not otherwise possible.

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Swivl Personal Cameraman and Wireless Microphone

Review by Tony Vincent, Learning in Hand

Accessory = 4/5 for a unique accessory that fills a need for some but may have other’s asking, “Why would you ever buy one of those?”

App = 3/5 for adding just one piece of functionality over other video recording apps. The suggested app to use with the hardware is also called Swivl, which is not a necessity in order to use the Swivl base and microphone. The app does allow for the remote to start and stop recording wirelessly.  Otherwise, you could record using the Camera app, iMovie, or any other video recording app.

What

Swivl is designed to work best with iPhone or iPod touch. Swivl comes in two parts. The first is the wireless remote. It can be worn or held. The remote functions as a microphone and transmits an infrared signal to the base. The base is motorized and is programmed to follow the remote’s infrared signal. The base can be set on a flat surface or mounted on a tripod.

Verdict

Most people I have shown Swivl to admit that it is cool but that they would never have a use for it. It’s meant for filmmakers who don’t have someone to be their cameraman and who walk around a lot when speaking. Keep in mind Swivl works best with iPhone. iPod touch will work too. If an iPad is put into Swivl, it will not rotate because iPad is too heavy for its motors.

Swivl’s base requires AA batteries and the remote needs AAAs. The company says that Swivl will operate for four hours on a fresh set of batteries. Keep in mind that Swivl does not charge your device. Also know that recording video can take up loads of memory, so recording something longer than 30 minutes may be out of the question.

Swivl works as advertised. While it doesn’t follow your every move, when you get close to the edge of the camera’s view, Swivl will rotate to reposition the camera. There is room for improvement for Swivl to move more smoothly. The company says it will have future firmware updates that may improve its performance.

While the wireless microphone sounds terrific, it does have a bright green dot on it. The dot serves no function and I think it looks tacky and distracting in videos. Perhaps a black permanent marker or some paint and remedy it’s ugliness.

Education Verdict

Teachers who record their lectures could use Swivl to record important portions of their presentations. The video would follow the presenter, not any slideshows, so some post-production work might need to be done in order to combine the lecture with slides or visuals. Swivl could be handy for pairs of students making videos. The students would not need a third to be the cameraman. Swivl really is a niche product, but for those in that niche, Swivl can be very much worth its price tag.

Here’s a short video made using Swivl: youtube.com/watch?v=-smO7sdWwZc

Manufacture’s website: swivl.com

Posted on Tuesday, May 22nd 2012

Tags swivl camera podcast lecture appcessory tony vincent

Capta device mount Accessory = 4/5 simple but effective design, and for the amazing sticky but not-sticky pad its built around.  BYO App = whatever app you have that needs stabilising. WHAT: The Capta is a small block of aluminum, machined to allow for two things - a tripod mount, and horizontal backing plate that holds the grip pad ready for a device to be attached. By attaching it to various tripods or gorilla grips it becomes a very flexible mounting solution. HOW: The whole effectiveness of the Capta mount is built around the grip pad - a section of sticky rubber against which your device is placed. Its really quite miraculous in that it not only holds your device, but leaves no sticky residue when you remove it, and can be cleaned by water if and as necessary, all the while losing none of its gripping power. VERDICT: Since buying two Capta’s via their initial Kickstarter.com release, I’ve had nothing but amazed looks as I show it off by attaching my iPhone to the grip pad and then shaking it vigorously - it really is that effective, with no other attachments or special cases required. I have also had general success using the two in tandem to hold the larger iPad. In addition, I received two larger grip pads which I’ve used to simply stick my iPad to a music stand for instance, again with no other attachments needed.  My only criticism would be that for use with larger devices, a lip at the base of the Capta where one attaches the device that could be adjusted (ie screwed in and out) would mean I could feel 100% confident in using them for larger devices that might need to be setup in spots with people passing by or outside on windy days. (EDUCATION VERDICT) For education environments where fast setup to capture the action of kids is required, it would be hard to go past the Capta, particularly as it can support a large range of devices, including standard point and shoot cameras. http://www.udsproducts.com/capta/

Capta device mount

Accessory = 4/5 simple but effective design, and for the amazing sticky but not-sticky pad its built around. 

BYO App = whatever app you have that needs stabilising.

WHAT: The Capta is a small block of aluminum, machined to allow for two things - a tripod mount, and horizontal backing plate that holds the grip pad ready for a device to be attached. By attaching it to various tripods or gorilla grips it becomes a very flexible mounting solution.


HOW: The whole effectiveness of the Capta mount is built around the grip pad - a section of sticky rubber against which your device is placed. Its really quite miraculous in that it not only holds your device, but leaves no sticky residue when you remove it, and can be cleaned by water if and as necessary, all the while losing none of its gripping power.

VERDICT: Since buying two Capta’s via their initial Kickstarter.com release, I’ve had nothing but amazed looks as I show it off by attaching my iPhone to the grip pad and then shaking it vigorously - it really is that effective, with no other attachments or special cases required. I have also had general success using the two in tandem to hold the larger iPad. In addition, I received two larger grip pads which I’ve used to simply stick my iPad to a music stand for instance, again with no other attachments needed. 

My only criticism would be that for use with larger devices, a lip at the base of the Capta where one attaches the device that could be adjusted (ie screwed in and out) would mean I could feel 100% confident in using them for larger devices that might need to be setup in spots with people passing by or outside on windy days.

(EDUCATION VERDICT)

For education environments where fast setup to capture the action of kids is required, it would be hard to go past the Capta, particularly as it can support a large range of devices, including standard point and shoot cameras.

http://www.udsproducts.com/capta/

Posted on Friday, May 18th 2012

Tags Capta accessory camera grip mount

JaJa - pressure sensitive (up to 1024 levels) for iPad. Uses patent-pending ultrasonic sound rather than bluetooth so it has amazing battery life and can be used in airplane-mode situations. I ordered one early on Kickstarter - look for a review as soon as its available.

JaJa - pressure sensitive (up to 1024 levels) for iPad. Uses patent-pending ultrasonic sound rather than bluetooth so it has amazing battery life and can be used in airplane-mode situations. I ordered one early on Kickstarter - look for a review as soon as its available.

Posted on Monday, May 7th 2012

Tags appcessories stylus iPad JaJa

This is where Appcessories and the wearable-tech trend meet: the Pebble E-Paper Watch I signed up early on for a black model - and can&#8217;t wait to see how well it integrates with apps (Runkeeper has already been announced as a partner), AND makes using a mobile device even easier.

This is where Appcessories and the wearable-tech trend meet: the Pebble E-Paper Watch

I signed up early on for a black model - and can’t wait to see how well it integrates with apps (Runkeeper has already been announced as a partner), AND makes using a mobile device even easier.

Posted on Monday, May 7th 2012

Tags appcessories pebble apps wearable

GameChanger iPad Boardgame
App 4/5 - for quality of the two main games that are included the game changer. The other mini games however are below par.
Accessory 4/5 - for good build quality and ability to just change cards to change games, although these cards are a little thin and can be easily bent.
What
The game changer is consists of three joined board elements that fold around the central one (which also contains the iPad dock) when not in use. To play you simply unfold the side boards, dock the iPad (the app should auto-launch), place the cards on the sides and choose your playing piece.
How 
Each side section contains pressure-sensitive sensors which sit under the corresponding squares of the gamecards and allows the GameChanger to know where you have placed a piece. This is also what provides the interactivity - because your iPad is docked with the board itself, it receives the information from the pressure spots to keep track of each players progress.
Verdict 
The GameChanger is a very good first attempt at melding the digital world of the iPad and of the physical world of board games. One really good feature to note is that the board itself has a docking plug that is adjustable in height so that it works with just about any iPad case. The two main games, ‘Magic School Bus’ and ‘Animal Mania’ have large amounts of questions and options. When tested with our family that includes a four year old, we found that she wanted to play the games over and over, a good sign. 
The mini games however are generally very simple and all revolve around the same action of simply tapping on the pressure spots to control something that’s happening on the iPad screen. This seems quite unnatural in an age where you’ve got the touchscreen - why not just tap on it directly?

I did experience one small issue where the board would stop being recognised by the iPad this was usually fixed quite quickly send it by restarting the iPad and this re-establish the connection.

Education Verdict 
Both main games are based around a lot of semi-educational knowledge,  whether it’s the Magic School Bus topics of the body or space, or Animal Mania’s questions and facts. This gives the GameChanger good potential  to be integrated into the classroom and to curriculum that relates to the same areas, as long as a teacher is able to do this integrating rather than just say letting students use it for reward time.

This product has been donated by iWorldAustralia.com for giving away at the www.learningathand.info mobile learning forum in Cairns April 29-30. 

Posted on Wednesday, March 28th 2012

Tags appcessories appcessory app iPad iOS game board game GameChanger play mlearn mlearning

ION Piano Apprentice

App = 4/5 app - large range of content a genuine attempt at putting basics of learning piano in an app.

Accessory = 4/5 - well designed device cradle and bonus points for working with other music apps also.

 

WHAT

The Piano Apprentice from ION is a one-octave keyboard with red lights in the keys that highlight which key from the corresponding tutorial app you need to press. The app features videos and sheet music as part of a series of lessons.

 

HOW

By plugging your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch in and placing it where the sheet music would go on a traditional piano, the video and animated sheet music tutorials can guide you through learning to play. The keys also light up in sync with the lessons to provide an extra visual aide.

 

VERDICT

Like any self-teaching tool, (as noted by the music teacher resident in my household) the Piano Apprentice will work best if you already have the motivation to learn. If you do, the key ability of the app to allow unlimited replays of tutorials at your own pace should prove very useful. The ‘Piano Guy’ who appears in the videos is enthusiastic, and the extra touch of light up keys shows some extra thought was put into the product. Also impressive is the fact that the keyboard works just as well with other music apps like Garageband, which broadens its appeal to those wanting to create, not just learn music.

My only requests would be for the app to allow you to slow down all of its lessons, not just the sheet music ones, for it to add a big pause button as trying to tap the small one on screen can be tricky to get just right. 

The resident music teachers request was for the keyboard to light up with actual notes (A, E, F# etc) rather than just lights.

 

(EDUCATION VERDICT)

Part of the appeal of iOS devices for learning is that they allow kids to teach themselves, and the Piano Apprentice certainly fits in very well with that, while also allowing them to graduate to other music apps to play their own tracks.

  

This product has been provided by iWorld Australia and will be given away at the Learning@hand mobile learning forum, April 29-30.

Posted on Monday, February 27th 2012

Tags app appcessory appcessories ION Piano tutor tutorial iPad iPod iPhone iOS mlearn mlearning review keyboard Garageband music

The MakeGo app let&#8217;s u build a car (we chose lego) then the app becomes an interactive car body! (or boat or icecream van)

The MakeGo app let’s u build a car (we chose lego) then the app becomes an interactive car body! (or boat or icecream van)

Posted on Thursday, February 16th 2012

Tags app appcessory car lego